HEYWOOD L. EDWARDS, LCDR, USN

From USNA Virtual Memorial Hall
Heywood Edwards '26

Date of birth: November 8, 1905

Date of death: October 31, 1941

Age: 35

Lucky Bag

From the 1926 Lucky Bag:

1926 Edwards LB.jpg

Heywood Lane Edwards

San Saba, Texas

"Tex" "Babe" "Swede"

TEX started life "wrasslin" steers on the plains of Texas. So, at the outset of his career in the Navy, he signed up with the mat artists, and has since been one of the mainstays of the team. Second Class year he became the hero in a little drama entitled, "From Wrestler to Boxer in Four Days" and the villain in its sequel, "Back to Wrestler in Three Rounds."

When Babe first appeared as a Middy Fourth he was the typical Lone Star Ranger. After settling sundry details, such as the confiscation of his shootin' irons, the discarding of his sombrero, and the placing of cactus in his shoes so he would feel at home, he settled down and proceeded to make the acquaintance of all the officer's kids, dogs, W.O.'s and poker players.

"I'm wild and woolly and full of fleas,
I've never been curried below the knees,
I'm an old she wolf from Bitter Creek
And it's my night to howl-l!"

Wrestling (4, 3, 2, 1), N (3, 2, 1), Captain (1); Football, B Squad (4); Football Squad (2, 1), Navy Numerals (2); Boxing Intercollegiates (2); Class Tennis (4, 3), Numerals (4, 3); Black N*****.

1926 Edwards LB.jpg

Heywood Lane Edwards

San Saba, Texas

"Tex" "Babe" "Swede"

TEX started life "wrasslin" steers on the plains of Texas. So, at the outset of his career in the Navy, he signed up with the mat artists, and has since been one of the mainstays of the team. Second Class year he became the hero in a little drama entitled, "From Wrestler to Boxer in Four Days" and the villain in its sequel, "Back to Wrestler in Three Rounds."

When Babe first appeared as a Middy Fourth he was the typical Lone Star Ranger. After settling sundry details, such as the confiscation of his shootin' irons, the discarding of his sombrero, and the placing of cactus in his shoes so he would feel at home, he settled down and proceeded to make the acquaintance of all the officer's kids, dogs, W.O.'s and poker players.

"I'm wild and woolly and full of fleas,
I've never been curried below the knees,
I'm an old she wolf from Bitter Creek
And it's my night to howl-l!"

Wrestling (4, 3, 2, 1), N (3, 2, 1), Captain (1); Football, B Squad (4); Football Squad (2, 1), Navy Numerals (2); Boxing Intercollegiates (2); Class Tennis (4, 3), Numerals (4, 3); Black N*****.

Loss

Heywood was lost on October 31, 1941, when USS Reuben James (DD 245) was sunk by a German submarine west of Iceland. He was the ship's commanding officer.

Other Information

From Find A Grave:

Edwards was born in San Saba, Tex., 9 November 1905 and graduated from the United States Naval Academy in 1926.

He competed for the United States in freestyle wrestling in the 1928 Summer Olympics, earning 4th place in the light heavyweight division.

After serving in battleship Florida (BB-30), destroyer Reno (DD-303) and other ships, he underwent submarine instruction in 1931, served in several submarines, and was assigned to cruiser Detroit (CL-8) in 1935. Lieutenant Commander Edwards assumed command of Reuben James (DD-245) 6 April 1940.

His ship became the first in the U.S. Navy to be sunk in the Battle of the Atlantic when it was torpedoed by a German submarine while on convoy duty west of Iceland 30–31 October 1941.

Lt. Comdr. Edwards and 99 of his crew perished with the ship.

Bio information from Wikipedia and wife, Almeda Stewart Ellis family information.

From researcher Kathy Franz:

Heywood was appointed to the Naval Academy by Congressman Thomas L. Blanton.

Heywood married Almeda Stewart on March 11, 1935, in Wilmington, North Carolina.

He has a memory marker in Texas. He was survived by his wife, Almeda; they had no children together.

Photographs

Navy Directories & Officer Registers

The "Register of Commissioned and Warrant Officers of the United States Navy and Marine Corps" was published annually from 1815 through at least the 1970s; it provided rank, command or station, and occasionally billet until the beginning of World War II when command/station was no longer included. Scanned copies were reviewed and data entered from the mid-1840s through 1922, when more-frequent Navy Directories were available.

The Navy Directory was a publication that provided information on the command, billet, and rank of every active and retired naval officer. Single editions have been found online from January 1915 and March 1918, and then from three to six editions per year from 1923 through 1940; the final edition is from April 1941.

The entries in both series of documents are sometimes cryptic and confusing. They are often inconsistent, even within an edition, with the name of commands; this is especially true for aviation squadrons in the 1920s and early 1930s.

Alumni listed at the same command may or may not have had significant interactions; they could have shared a stateroom or workspace, stood many hours of watch together… or, especially at the larger commands, they might not have known each other at all. The information provides the opportunity to draw connections that are otherwise invisible, though, and gives a fuller view of the professional experiences of these alumni in Memorial Hall.

October 1926
Ensign, USS Florida

Others at this command:
January 1927
Ensign, USS Florida

Others at this command:
April 1927
Ensign, USS Florida

Others at this command:

Others at or embarked at this command:
LTjg Rogers Ransehousen '21 (Observation Plane Squadron (VO) 6)
LTjg John Lenhart '21 (Observation Plane Squadron (VO) 6)
October 1927
Ensign, USS Florida

Others at or embarked at this command:
LT Rogers Ransehousen '21 (Observation Plane Squadron (VO) 5S)
January 1928
Ensign, USS Florida

Others at this command:
October 1928
Ensign, tempo, USS Reno
January 1929
Ensign, USS Kennedy
April 1929
Ensign, USS Kennedy
July 1929
Ensign, USS Kennedy
October 1929
Lieutenant (j.g.), USS Kennedy
January 1930
Lieutenant (j.g.), USS William B. Preston
April 1930
Lieutenant (j.g.), USS William B. Preston
October 1930
Lieutenant (j.g.), USS William B. Preston

Others at this command:
January 1931
Lieutenant (j.g.), under instruction, Submarine Base New London, Connecticut

Others at this command:
April 1931
Lieutenant (j.g.), under instruction, Submarine Base New London, Connecticut

Others at this command:
July 1931
Lieutenant (j.g.), USS Bonita
October 1931
Lieutenant (j.g.), USS Bonita
January 1932
Lieutenant (j.g.), USS Bonita
October 1932
Lieutenant (j.g.), USS Bass
January 1933
Lieutenant (j.g.), USS Barracuda

Others at this command:
April 1933
Lieutenant (j.g.), USS Barracuda

Others at this command:
October 1935
Lieutenant (j.g.), USS Detroit


Others at or embarked at this command:
LT Paul Register '21 (Destroyers, Battle Force)
January 1936
Lieutenant (j.g.), USS Detroit


Others at or embarked at this command:
LT Paul Register '21 (Destroyers, Battle Force)
April 1936
Lieutenant (j.g.), USS Detroit


Others at or embarked at this command:
LT Paul Register '21 (Destroyers, Battle Force)
July 1936
Lieutenant (j.g.), USS Detroit


Others at or embarked at this command:
LT Paul Register '21 (Destroyers, Battle Force)
January 1937
Lieutenant, USS Detroit


Others at or embarked at this command:
LT Paul Register '21 (Destroyers, Battle Force)
April 1937
Lieutenant, USS Detroit


Others at or embarked at this command:
LT Paul Register '21 (Destroyers, Battle Force)
September 1937
Lieutenant, USS Detroit

January 1938
Lieutenant, USS Detroit

July 1938
Lieutenant, Norfolk Navy Yard, Portsmouth, Virginia


Others at or embarked at Norfolk Navy Yard, Portsmouth, Virginia:
1LT Chandler Johnson '29 (Marine Barracks, Norfolk Navy Yard, Portsmouth, Virginia)
2LT James Crowther '35 (Marine Barracks, Norfolk Navy Yard, Portsmouth, Virginia)
January 1939
Lieutenant, Norfolk Navy Yard, Portsmouth, Virginia


Others at or embarked at Norfolk Navy Yard, Portsmouth, Virginia:
1LT James Crowther '35 (Marine Barracks, Norfolk Navy Yard, Portsmouth, Virginia)
October 1939
Lieutenant, Norfolk Navy Yard, Portsmouth, Virginia


Others at or embarked at Norfolk Navy Yard, Portsmouth, Virginia:
2LT Dorrance Radcliffe '38 (Marine Barracks, Norfolk Navy Yard, Portsmouth, Virginia)
June 1940
Lieutenant, commanding officer, USS Reuben James

November 1940
Lieutenant, commanding officer, USS Reuben James

April 1941
Lieutenant, commanding officer, USS Reuben James

Namesake

USS Heywood L. Edwards (DD 663) was named for Heywood; the ship was sponsored by his mother.


Class of 1926

Heywood is one of 36 members of the Class of 1926 on Virtual Memorial Hall.

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